Hydraulic oil fuel pressure device



HYDRAULIC OIL FUEL PRESSURE DEVICE Filed July 6, 1940 INVENTORS. 29 PAyMo/vp 6T A/NSWOATH BY MAR/0N 15. (SCHULTZ- 422.

Patented Apr. 21, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HYDRAULIC OIL FUEL PRESSURE DEVICE Raymond C. Ainsworth and Marion Schultz,

Denver, Colo.

Application July 6, 1940, Serial No. 344,230

2 Claims. (Cl. 26-0-84) This invention relates to a hydraulic pressure device more particularly for supplying oil fuel, under pressure to a burner. The principal object'of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will eliminate all mechanical pumps and the like, and which will employ the pressure of a city Water system for applying pressure to fuel oil.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liquid pressure producing tank which will be entirely automatic-in operation so that as it becomes filled it will automatically shut off the supply and open a drain to discharge the accumulated liquid.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efliciency. 7

These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved hydraulic pressure device partially broken away to show the interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, horizontal section, taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the electrical switching mechanism.

The invention employs a sealed tank l0 having a water supply conduit II opening through the bottom therefor, and an oil supply conduit l2 opening through the top thereof. The water supply conduit communicates, both with a water pressure pipe I3 and a drain pipe 14. The oil supply conduit communicates with an oil feed pipe I5 and a burner supply pipe IS.

The oil feed pipe l5 leads from any suitable reservoir (not shown) and is controlled by means of a suitable check valve H, which prevents reverse flow therein. The burner supply pipe I6 is also controlled by the means of a suitable check valve l8 to prevent fuel from being withdrawn from the burner. A suitable pressure guage l9 maybe used to indicate the pressure in the tank Ill. The water supply pipe I3 is controlled by means of a solenoid-operated valve and the drain line I4 is similarly controlled by means of a solenoid valve 2|.

Within the tank I0 is a vertical float guide rod 22 upon which, a float 23 is slidably mounted. A contact yoke 24 is slidably mounted at its extremities on the guide rod 22. The yoke 24 extends from a point adjacent the top of the rod to a point adjacent the bottom thereof. It can be readily seen that as the float approaches the top of the rod it will force the yoke member 24 upwardly, and as it approaches the bottom it will similarly force the yoke member downwardly. The yoke member operates a forked lever 25 in which a pin 33, which is secured to the yoke member 24, rides. The lever 25 is secured on the inner extremity of a switch-operating shaft 25. The shaft is journalled in a bearing tube 21, extending through the wall of tank to the exterior thereof.

The outer extremity of the switch shaft 26 carries a pair of oppositely facing mercury switches 28 and 29 which reciprocate with the shaft. The switch 28 is connected in a circuit 30 with the solenoid of the valve 20. The switch 29 is connected in a circuit 3| with the solenoid of the valve 21. The switches 28 and 29 are so positioned that when the float 23 is at the uppermost position, as shown in Fig. 1, a contact will be closed through solenoid switch 29 to open the drain pipe l4 and the contact through the conductors 30 will be broken to close solenoid valve 23 in the water pipe I3. When the float reaches its lower-most position, the reverse will take place, that is, the valve 20 will be opened and the valve 2| will be closed.

The switches are preferably mounted in front of a switch board 32 secured to the tank ID. A spring lever 33 extends outwardly from the shaft 26 and is connected by means of a tension spring 34 to a spring bracket 35 on the switch board 32 on the opposite side of the shaft 26. This arrangement causes the spring lever 33 to be snapped upwardly when the shaft 26 is rotated to the right and to be snapped downwardly when the shaft is rotated to the left past the dead center point. The spring 34 also acts to support the weight of the yoke member until the weight of the float is added thereto.

The burner pipe l6 may be controlled through any suitable thermostatic control 36 acting on a thermostat valve 31. The tank In is preferably supported on suitable legs 38.

Operation Let us assume that the pipe 15 leads from any suitable oil reservoir; the pipe 16 leads to any suitable oil burner; the pipe l4 leads to the sewer or other drain receptacle; that the pipe I3 is connected with a source of water power such as a city main; and that the tank I0 is filled with fuel oil. The float 23 is so weighted that it will float on water but not on oil. Therefore, the yoke member 24 is at its lower-most position so that the solenoid of the valve 20 is energized and the solenoid of the valve 2| is de-energized. The water now flows into the bottom of the tank to create pressure on the oil therein. This pressure forces the oil through the burner pipe IE to the burner.

The flow to the burner, of course, is controlled by the thermostat valve 36. As the oil is used, the water slowly rises in the tank carrying the float 23 upwardly. When the oil is nearly entirely exhausted, the float will reach the upper extremity of the yoke, lifting it sufliciently to allow the mercury switches to tilt in the opposite direction. This immediately shuts off the water supply and opens the drain H by energizing the solenoid of the valve 2| and de-energizing the solenoid of the valve 20. The water in flowing from the tank creates a partial vacuum in the top thereof which draws in a new supply of fuel oil until the float reaches the lower extremity of the yoke member 24 and snaps the switches over into their former position.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a float controlled switch, a liquid receptacle, a bearing mounted horizontally through a wall of a liquid receptacle, a rocker shaft rotatably mounted through the bearing with its ends projecting from the inner and outer ends thereof, a vertical guide rod in said receptacle, a vertical yoke having upper and lower arms engaged about the rod-and mounting the yoke for vertical shifting between raised and lowered positions, a float slidable along the rod between the arm for engaging the arms and shifting the yoke vertically to raised and lowered positions, a lever carried by the inner end of said rocker shaft and extending laterally therefrom towards the yoke and having forks at its end straddling the yoke, a pin carried by said yoke and extending laterally therefrom and engaged between the forks of said lever to actuate the lever and impart rocking movement to the shaft when the yoke is shifted vertically to raised and lowered positions, a switch carried by the outer end of said rocker shaft transversely thereof and adapted to be opened and closed by tilting movement when the shaft is rocked by vertical movement of the yoke, and means to yieldably resist rocking of the shaft by action of the yoke and the float. I

2. In a float controlled switch, a liquid receptacle, a switch board, a horizontal bearing carried by the switch board and extending through a wall of the receptacle, a rocker shaft rotatably mounted through the bearing with the ends projecting from the inner and outer ends thereof, a vertically disposed guide rod in said receptacle, a yoke disposed vertically and having upper and lower arms slidably engaged with the rod to mount the yoke for vertical shifting, a float slidable upon the rod between the arms for shifting the yoke vertically as the float approaches limits of its vertical movement along ,the rod, a lever carried by the inner end of the shaft and connected with the yoke for actuation thereby to rock the shaft during vertical movement of the yoke, a mercury switch carried by the outer end of the shaft transversely thereof and adapted to be opened and closed by tilting movement when the shaft is rocked, an arm extending laterally from the outer end of said shaft, and a spring extending longitudinally of the arm and anchored at its ends to the switch ,board and the free end of the arm and serving to yieldably resist movement of the arm past a dead center.

RAYMOND C. AINSWORTH. MARION B. SCHULTZ. 

